Electrical equipment for internal-combustion engines.



' V. G. APPLE.

ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT FOR INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES. APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 9. 1912.

L142 ,791 Patented June 15, 1915.

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ELEGTRlCAL EQUIPMENT FOR INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT- 9, 19l2.

Patented Julie 15, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 srATEs PATENT QFEIOM v'rivcnnrc. APPLE, or DAYTON, OHIO, ASSIGNOB, TO THE APPLE ELECTRIC COMPANY, or'nAYrron, OHIO, A oonronnrron or OHIO.

ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT FOR INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINES.

Specification of Letters Patent. P t t J 15, 1915;, I

Application filed September 9, 1912. Serial No. 719,359.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, VINCENT G. APPLE, a. citizen of the United States, residing at Dayton, in the county of Montgomery and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Electrical Equipments for Internal Combustion Engines, of whichthe following is a specification.

Myinvention relates to improvements in electrical equipments for internal combust'ion engines, comprising means for producing the spark for firingthe fuel charge; for starting the engine; for charging a storage battery; for signaling; and for lighting the lamps that may be connected in circuits with these accompanying devices.

One of the general objects of my invention is to provide an equipment of this character to accompany an internal combustion engine that may be employed for propelling an automobile, or other like vehicle.

Another object of my invention is to pro? vide, in a system of the character described, a dynamo-electric machine so constructed and arranged, with reference to the storage battery, that by their coiiperation there will be maintained or slightly increased the electromotive force of the current output of said dynamo at time, when the speed of the dynamo is increased below a given velocity and whereby said electromotive force will be automatically maintained, or prevented from being increased, by the operation of the dynamo alone when the speed of the dynamo has been increased above a given velocity, thereby to limit the current output of the dynamo under large variations of speed.

Other and further objects of my inven-.

tion will become readily apparent to persons skilled in the art from a consideration of the following description when taken in conjunction with the drawings, wherein- Figure 1 is a diagrammatic representation of the devices and circuits included in my electrical equipment. ,In this diagram all of the circuits are shown to be open; Fig. 2 is a similar view of the devices and circuits showing certain circuits closed which are necessary to be closed when the dynamo is to be used as a motor as when it is being supplied with current from the battery for the purpose of starting or cranking the engine; Fig. 3 is a similar view showing the circuits, that are necessary for charging the storage battery, closed, when the dynamo becomes a generator; Fig. 4 shows a general form of the switch that may be employed n connection with the circuits for producing the desired results.

The specific construction of this switch is fully disclosed and claimed in a copending application filed by me on the 8th day of August, 1912, and identified by Serial No. 714,086, for an electric circuit controller.

In all the views the same reference charactors are employed toindicate similar parts. In the use of my equipment the circuit is first closed so that the battery will furnish energy for the purpose of energizing the dynamo electric machine for operating said dynamo electric machine as a motor for starting the engine. To accomplish this the circuits are completed, as shown in Fig. 2,

whereby the double throw switch Sis thrown so that the blades on the left side make contact with their respective clips. The circuit will then be completed directly from the battery to the dynamo.

D is a dynamo provided with the arma- 121111: A. I r

is a storage batter com risin an desired number of cells. y g y S is a double throw switch.

R is a relay, I is the igniting device and T indicates the translating devices to be maintained between the mains directly connected to the storage battery terminals.

YVhen the switch is thrown to the left, as shown in Fig. 2, and the circuit is completed the current will. flow in the direction shown by the arrows, beginning at the positive terminal of the battery and flowing over the wires 5 130 the main line fuse 6, over the wire 7 to the series field winding 8 in the direction opposite to that in which the current will pass through this winding when .the dynamo is operating as a generator,

therby causing the armature of the dynamo to rotate in the same direction that it is rotated by the engine, when the dynamo is functioning as a generator; through the wire 9 tothe positive brush of the dynamo, through the armature A to the negative brushof the-dynamo, then over the wires 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14, thence over the wires 15, 16, 17, to the clip. 18 of the switch S, thence over the blade 19 and the connector 20 to the blade 21 to. the clip 22 thence over the wires 23, 24, 25, to the negative terminal just described is reversed, as shown by the.

arrows in Fig. 3, during this time the series field windin of the dynamo will act to mag-' netically di erentiate the shunt field wind- 'of the switch on the right side make conihfter the engine becomes self propelling, and is capable of rotatin the dynamo at a given speed, the switch S is thrown in opposite direction or reversed so that the blades tact with their respective clips and the blades of the switch'on the opposite side are separated from their clips.

Before the switch has been thrown for the purpose of making a generator of the dynamo, the ignition circuit'may be traced as follows: from the connecting wire 20, over the switch blade 26 to the clip 27 over the wires 28, 29, 30, to the primary coil 31 of the igniting device, through the circuitbl'eaker 32, over thewires 33 and 34, to the main 35 which is connected to the mm 5 at the point 36. Itwill, of course, be observed that the connector 20 is connected to the negative side of the battery by the circuits heretofore traced.

The translating devices T, shown by the two lamps 37 and 38 are connected in parallel between the mains 35 and 39'as usual. The main 39 is connected to the wire 25 and the negative terminal of the battery, as at 40.

It will therefore, be observed that the translating devices may be energized directly by the batteries irrespective of the operation of the dynamo electric machine, whether it is functioning as a generator-or as a motor and quite independently of the switch S. Now when the circuits are completed,as

shown in Fig. 3, by throwing the switch S so as to complete all of the circuits necessary for the dynamo to operate as a generator,

the current will pass from the dynamo D, from the positive brush: over. the wire 9 through theisries winding 8, in the opposite direction to that taken by the current from the battery, when the dynamo is functioning as a motor, over the wire 7 to fuse 6 and the wire 5 to the positive terminal of the battery, through the battery and the translating devices to the point 40, thence over the wire 25 to the clip 41, through the switch lade 42 and over the connector 43 to the blade 44 to the switch clip 45and by wire 46 to the wire 13, thence" back by wires 12, 11,10, to the negative brush of the dynamo. Current will now pass through the shunt field winding circuit as follows: from'the positivebrush of the dynamo over wire 9 to the point 47 thence through the shunt winding 48 in a direction opposite tethat taken by.-tha. ;current in the series winding, over the wirejat t9, 50 and 51, to the relay B, through the relativelyheavy resistance winding. 52 of said relay,"by wire 53 to wire 54, thence to clip 55 of the'switch blade 56 to the connectors 57 and 58 to the switch blade 44 and thence back to the negative terminal of the dynamo, through the portion of the circuit which has heretofore been traced, thereby energizing the shunt field winding and including therewith the resistance coil 52.

When the armature 59, of the relay R, is attracted to the electromagnet, the circuit is broken between the contact point 59 of the armature and the stationary contact, 60, therefore .the.resistance coil 52 is in-' cluded in the series circuit with the shunt winding 48. If, however, the relay is not sufliciently energized "as to attract its arma ture 59, contact will be made between the point 59' and 60, the circuit will then be complete from the wire 50 through the wire 61, the wires 62 and 63, to fromthence to the contact 59' and through the armature 59 to the wire 54, thus short circuiting the resistance coil 52 of the relay and decreasing the resistanceof the circuit including the shunt field winding, propor tionately.

During this time the field windings 8 and 48' are operating in such manner as to magnetically oppose each other, so that the increase of current flowing through the'series v winding 8 will tend to decrease the magnetic elfect of the shunt winding 48 thereby to limit the current to prevent abnormal rise thereof under highest conditions of speed.

The ignition circuit is now completed from the wire 29 over the wires- 64, 65, 66, to the clip 67 over the switch blade 68 to the con nector 69 and thence as heretofore traced. It will therefore be observed that the ignition circuit, as well as the translating devices is independent of the operation of the switch to close the respective circuits for the purpose of causing the dynamo to operate as a motor or as a generator.

When the storage battery needscharging, as for instance, after it has been used for the purpose of starting the engine, and the electromotive force has thereby been decreased below normal, it is very important to have the dynamo produce current of greater value for the purpose of restoring the battery to its normal charge than willsubsequently be required or desired. 1 therefore, provide the relay R for thepurpose of automatically reducing the value of the current output of the contact 60,

the dynamo, at such times, and to this end, the current from the battery, starting at the positive terminal, as from the point 36, would pass over the wires 70, 7-1, 72, to the resistance coil 73 of the relay R, in the same direction that the current passes through coil 52 of the said relay, thence by wires 7 4:, 75, to the switch clip 7 6, over the blade 77,

by wire 7 8, to the connector 58 and thence as when it is partly discharged, suificient current will not pass through the coil 73 to attract the armature 59, therefore, the contact 59 of the armature remains in contact with the point 60, and the circuit through the shunt winding 48 does not include the resistance coil 52 of the relay so that by this. means, the differential efiect of the shunt winding 48, with respect, to the series winding 8, is greater and the electromotive force spondingly decreasing the current, flowing of the dynamo will be greater at a given speed, and consequently a larger current will flow into the battery from the dynamo until the electromotive force of the battery is sufficient to energize the relay R and cause its armature 59 to be attracted, thereby breaking the circuit at the contacts 59' and 60, and causing the current to flow through the resistance coil 52, thereby increasing the resistance of the shunt field circuit and corretlrrough the shunt winding 48,a'llowing the series winding 8 to have a larger differential effect and thereby causing a current of smaller value to flow through the main circuit from the dynamo to the battery and under the same conditions of speed.

' vAfter the armature 59 has been attracted by the relay and the circuit .between 59 and 60- opened the current that flows through the coil 52 is in the same direction as the current that flows through the coils 7 3,

.so that these coils will magnetically assist each other causing the armature 59 to be held more firmly out of contact with contact 60, so that the jarring of the vehicle will 'not have the effect of rendering the aijmature 59 unstable and causing accidental connection between the contacts 59 and 60.

At any time during the operation of the dynamo, as a generator, should the electro-v motive force of the dynamo become lower than that of the battery, due to decreased speed, then the current from the battery will reverse through the series field Windng 8, or tend to reverse, and cause the current that passes through the field winding from the tromotive force thereof at the lower velocity.

For this reason an automatic circuit closing device, to be operated when the electromotive force of the dynamo has exceeded that of the battery, is not essential and thereby the equipment is greatly simplified and its operation improved I Fig.4 shows the type of switch that may be employed in connection with my electrical equipment and in this figure the circuits are shown to be open as they are displayed in Fig. 1.

This form of double throw switch is very convenient, for the purpose described, but, of course, my invention is not limited to any particular form of switch or any means by which the circuits may be closed, for the purposes described, and while I have described a single embodiment of my invention, for purpose of complete disclosure it is evident that changes may be made, from the eXemplification shown, without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

Having described my invention, what I claim is 1. An electrical equipment for an internal combustion engine comprising a dynamo electric machine having a series field winding and a shunt field winding in combination with, a manual double throw switch; circuit connections through said switch to connect the armature of the dynamo, field series winding and battery in series relation so that current from said battery will rotate the armature in the same direction as when said armature is driven as a generator when said switch is thrown in one direction; an automatic switch, having an operating coil connected across the terminals of said battery when said manual switch is thrown in the opposite direction; a resistance normally out of circuit and connectible by said automatic switch in series with the shunt field windings when the potential of rection; an automatic switch having an operating coil connected across the terminals of Said battery when said manual switch is thrown in the opposite direction; a resist- .an oe coil adapted to assist the magnetic field created by the first mentioned coil and normally out of circuit and connectible bysaid automatic switch in series with the shunt field windings when the potential of the battery rises to a predetermined value.

p 3. An electrical system comprising a dynamo adapted to operate either as a motor or generator, and having a series field winding and a shunt field winding, a battery adapted 'tp be charged thereby and to supply current for the same when operated as a motor,

circuit connections therefor, an automatic switch having a high resistance operating 7 when the potential of the battery rises-to a predetermined value.

In testimony whereof I hereunto set m .hand in the presence of two witnesses.

VINCENT e. APPLE.

In the presence of N. E. SNYDER, S. R. PURGH.

Oppies 0! this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G."

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